HMY Royal Escape
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File:The royal yacht 'Royal Escape'.jpg
HMY Royal escape painted by Willem van de Velde the Younger
HMY Royal escape was a former coastal trader, a brig named Surprise. King Charles II of England had used the ship to flee to France to escape his enemies. It was commissioned after the Restoration as a fifth rate line of battle ship, and permanently moored on the Thames, as the Royal Escape. This vessel has been called the first royal yacht. The expression yacht was used at this time for a small ship dedicated neither to commerce nor to war, but existing simply for pleasure. [1]
